Rural Swedish chef wins first two Michelin stars

A Swedish chef running a restaurant in the middle of nowhere celebrated on Wednesday as his eatery became the first in Sweden outside the capital to claim two Michelin stars.
Rising star Magnus Nilsson nabbed the double gong for his restaurant Fäviken Magasinet, located in northern Sweden near the Åre ski resort in Jämtland, more than 600 kilometres north of Stockholm.
But despite often being billed as the world's most isolated restaurant, tables at Fäviken are ususally booked up a month or more in advance – even before winning its two stars.
"We have peformed at international top level for a while now. More agile guides have noticed it before, and we belong to the most famous restaurants in the world," the Swedish chef told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper after being told the news on Wednesday.
Nilsson trained in Paris as a sommelier and only became a chef when he moved home to open a restaurant in his native north. His cuisine focuses on what you may call a series of hyper-Swedish dishes, including raw cow's heart with marrow and wild trout roe in dried pig's blood.
The lavish menu has to be ordered and paid for in advance and costs 2,200 kronor ($260) per head. Drinks not included.
Most of the food is locally sourced or grown or caught by Nilsson's team themselves. And it's a job he clearly takes seriously. When asked by Swedish media how he planned to celebrate his win, he replied: "We're going to go to Norway to fish for cod next week."
Elsewhere in Sweden, Hotel Borgholm on the picturesque Öland east coast island, PM & Vänner in Växjö and Daniel Berlin in Tranås received one star each in the Michelin Nordic Guide 2016 as the culinary guide for the first time extended its accolades to areas outside of Scandinavia's big-city regions.
"International food tourists' focus will now also be on restaurants outside the big cities. That means new jobs, growth and development of the Swedish countryside when Swedish gastronomy receives this recognition," said Eva Östling, CEO of tourist organization Visita.
Sushi Sho in Stockholm and Upper House in Gothenburg were also two of the new star restaurants shooting on to the prestigious list for the first time.
Over in Denmark and Norway, two restaurants were celebrating receiving their first three stars, the top level in Guide Michelin: Maaemo in Oslo and Geranium in Copenhagen.
The Swedish restaurants included in the Michelin Nordic Guide 2016
Two stars:
Frantzén, Stockholm
Mathias Dahlgren-Matsalen, Stockholm
Oaxen Krog, Stockholm
Fäviken, Järpen
One star:
Ekstedt, Stockholm
Esperanto, Stockholm
Gastrologik, Stockholm
Mathias Dahlgren-Matbaren, Stockholm
Operakällaren, Stockholm
Sushi Sho, Stockholm
Volt, Stockholm
Bhoga, Göteborg
Koka, Göteborg
Sjömagasinet, Göteborg
SK Mat & Människor, Göteborg
Thörnströms Kök, Göteborg
28+, Göteborg
Upper House, Göteborg
Ambiance à Vindåkra, Malmö
Bloom in the Park, Malmö
Vollmers, Malmö
Borgholm, Öland
Daniel Berlin, Tranås
PM & Vänner, Växjö
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Rising star Magnus Nilsson nabbed the double gong for his restaurant Fäviken Magasinet, located in northern Sweden near the Åre ski resort in Jämtland, more than 600 kilometres north of Stockholm.
But despite often being billed as the world's most isolated restaurant, tables at Fäviken are ususally booked up a month or more in advance – even before winning its two stars.
"We have peformed at international top level for a while now. More agile guides have noticed it before, and we belong to the most famous restaurants in the world," the Swedish chef told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper after being told the news on Wednesday.
Nilsson trained in Paris as a sommelier and only became a chef when he moved home to open a restaurant in his native north. His cuisine focuses on what you may call a series of hyper-Swedish dishes, including raw cow's heart with marrow and wild trout roe in dried pig's blood.
The lavish menu has to be ordered and paid for in advance and costs 2,200 kronor ($260) per head. Drinks not included.
Most of the food is locally sourced or grown or caught by Nilsson's team themselves. And it's a job he clearly takes seriously. When asked by Swedish media how he planned to celebrate his win, he replied: "We're going to go to Norway to fish for cod next week."
Elsewhere in Sweden, Hotel Borgholm on the picturesque Öland east coast island, PM & Vänner in Växjö and Daniel Berlin in Tranås received one star each in the Michelin Nordic Guide 2016 as the culinary guide for the first time extended its accolades to areas outside of Scandinavia's big-city regions.
"International food tourists' focus will now also be on restaurants outside the big cities. That means new jobs, growth and development of the Swedish countryside when Swedish gastronomy receives this recognition," said Eva Östling, CEO of tourist organization Visita.
Sushi Sho in Stockholm and Upper House in Gothenburg were also two of the new star restaurants shooting on to the prestigious list for the first time.
Over in Denmark and Norway, two restaurants were celebrating receiving their first three stars, the top level in Guide Michelin: Maaemo in Oslo and Geranium in Copenhagen.
The Swedish restaurants included in the Michelin Nordic Guide 2016
Two stars:
Frantzén, Stockholm
Mathias Dahlgren-Matsalen, Stockholm
Oaxen Krog, Stockholm
Fäviken, Järpen
One star:
Ekstedt, Stockholm
Esperanto, Stockholm
Gastrologik, Stockholm
Mathias Dahlgren-Matbaren, Stockholm
Operakällaren, Stockholm
Sushi Sho, Stockholm
Volt, Stockholm
Bhoga, Göteborg
Koka, Göteborg
Sjömagasinet, Göteborg
SK Mat & Människor, Göteborg
Thörnströms Kök, Göteborg
28+, Göteborg
Upper House, Göteborg
Ambiance à Vindåkra, Malmö
Bloom in the Park, Malmö
Vollmers, Malmö
Borgholm, Öland
Daniel Berlin, Tranås
PM & Vänner, Växjö
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